Episode 373: Asset Allocation in Practice
The Rational Reminder Podcast
Navigating Asset Allocation
This chapter explores the nuances of asset allocation, focusing on how personal financial situations influence investment choices between stocks and bonds. It emphasizes the importance of customized strategies that consider client goals, retirement income sources, and risk tolerance, alongside the psychological comfort provided by diversified portfolios. The discussion also highlights the critical role financial planning plays in educating clients about risks and maintaining a disciplined investment approach.
What if choosing your asset allocation was as personal as your life story—and as consequential as your retirement? In this episode, we are joined by PWL Capital’s Louai Bibi and Ben Wilson for a deep dive into how advisors guide clients through the most important portfolio decision they’ll ever make. Louai walks us through the research, psychology, and planning frameworks behind determining the right stock/bond mix, while Ben shares real-world insights from client cases where risk tolerance, pensions, and life events shifted the balance. We explore how Monte Carlo simulations stress-test financial plans, why spouses often disagree on risk, and how pensions act as “bond-like assets” in the bigger picture. Ben Wilson also takes us behind the scenes of PWL’s post-OneDigital acquisition journey, revealing why advisors are drawn to join the firm, how succession planning shapes their choices, and why a unified evidence-based philosophy matters in Canada’s wealth management landscape. The episode wraps with a fascinating look at surprising stock return outliers—like Build-A-Bear outperforming Nvidia—and what that teaches us about the futility of stock-picking versus the power of diversification.
Key Points From This Episode:
(0:01:00) Introducing PWL’s Louai Bibi and Ben Wilson—today’s topics: asset allocation, advisor succession, and surprising stock return data.
(0:03:35) Louai explains the asset allocation decision: balancing stocks vs. bonds and why it’s the biggest choice investors make.
(0:05:12) Why asset allocation matters: inflation erodes purchasing power, and stocks/bonds help investors keep up or outpace it.
(0:06:50) Historical lessons: $1 invested since 1970—outcomes for bonds, balanced portfolios, and 100% equities.
(0:08:35) The risks of downturns: 2008 as a case study in how stocks vs. bonds shape losses and recovery times.
(0:11:39) Risk tolerance questionnaires: how PWL uses surveys to gauge willingness vs. capacity to take risk.
(0:13:45) When spouses disagree on risk tolerance—balancing perspectives and sometimes splitting portfolios.
(0:16:42) Risk capacity: pensions, insurance, income stability, and emergency funds all shape asset allocation.
(0:20:08) Real client cases: retirees discovering they don’t need as much stock exposure, or elderly clients increasing equity later in life.
(0:22:47) How often do clients change asset allocations? Rarely—except for life events like retirement.
(0:27:10) Why Monte Carlo simulations are essential for stress-testing financial plans beyond straight-line projections.
(0:30:20) PWL’s “asset allocation email”: summarizing risks, pensions, debt, emergency funds, and personalized tradeoffs.
(0:34:02) Pensions as “bond-like assets”—how they increase ability but decrease need to take risk.
(0:37:11) Closing thoughts from Louai: think in dollar terms, investing is a marathon, and build confidence gradually.
(0:39:32) Education shifts clients’ choices: some reduce risk after learning the realities of volatility, others increase equity exposure with context.
(0:43:10) Advisor “fixed effects”: research shows the advisor’s own perspective strongly shapes client allocations.
(0:45:39) Transition to Ben Wilson: what motivates advisors to join PWL post-OneDigital acquisition.
(0:47:52) Reputation and content: how Rational Reminder, YouTube, blogs, and Canadian Couch Potato attract advisors.
(0:50:34) PWL’s unified philosophy: evidence-based, passive investing with a planning-first approach.
(0:56:30) Key motivators for advisors: reducing admin burdens, escaping “aggregator” models, and building integrated team structures.
(1:00:15) Succession planning: why advisors seek peace of mind for their clients and teams by partnering with PWL.
(1:03:04) Ben Felix on why these conversations are exciting and why advisors should reach out early.
(1:04:54) After show: Nvidia’s insane 70% annualized 5-year return—and why lesser-known names like Build-A-Bear, Celestica, and Dillard’s did even better.
(1:06:33) Celestica’s role in DFA funds and how it helped them keep pace with Shopify-driven indexes.
(1:09:25) Why broad diversification captures unexpected winners (Build-A-Bear included) without speculation.
(1:10:45) Active advisors pitch “winner-picking”—but history shows how impossible that really is.
(1:12:16) Reviews and wrap-up.
Links From Today’s Episode: Meet with PWL Capital: https://calendly.com/d/3vm-t2j-h3p
Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582. Rational Reminder Website — https://rationalreminder.ca/
Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/
Rational Reminder on X — https://x.com/RationalRemindRational Reminder on TikTok — www.tiktok.com/@rationalreminder
Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/
Rational Reminder Email — info@rationalreminder.caBenjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/
Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix
Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/
Dan Bortolotti — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/
Dan Bortolotti on LinkedIn — https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dan-bortolotti-8a482310
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
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